WhatsApp Business a free application for companies

At the end of 2017 the WhatsApp plans to launch a standalone business app of the official application came true. At the beginning of this year, the WhatsApp Business application appeared available for free download and from then on companies began to benefit from what it offered.

Below we will tell you in detail about this business application and the features it offers compared to the standard application. We will also see how configure WhatsApp Business and how to launch your business profile.

Who is WhatsApp Business for?

As it was expected, WhatsApp Business is a business application focused entirely on companies. It was designed from the ground up to offer a service in which any business can better interact with its customers.

El goal of WhatsApp Business is to provide updates, support and basically the ability to run your business directly from a mobile phone, all through WhatsApp, rather than from other online sites.

In other words, while customers will continue to use the usual WhatsApp application, the business owner or manager will use the WhatsApp Business application.

Has this been tried before?

Indeed yes, although not on this scale. If we search the Play Store a bit, we will find many applications that are tailored to the needs of business users. For example, Uber, which offers an online transportation service based on an application, has two versions: Uber, which is for customers, and Uber Driver, which is an application focused on drivers who provide this service.

It's actually just an interface to the end service, however in the case of WhatsApp Business is supported by a messaging application with millions of users around the world, so the reach is much wider.

It is so comprehensive as to create a separate application, since you need to serve a large number of companies, regardless of whether it is a local company, professional services, medical institutions or even the government itself.

WhatsApp Business main features

To begin with, WhatsApp Business is free, which means you can make a list of your businesses and keep in touch with all your customers at no cost. Having the backing of a Messaging application that allows you to send messages, traditional but expensive SMS, could very soon become redundant.

We also have the user base of the messaging client acquired by Facebook and thanks to the fact that we have been able to download WhatsApp for free for a long time, there are more and more active users that already number in the millions.

When a company can bombard its customer base with marketing messages without having to go to a telecommunications provider, certainly that is a benefit that is difficult to ignore. The message service, activations, etc., are also accessible through WhatsApp.

Of course all this reduces the cost of sending SMS text messages, but at the same time it also makes it possible to know if a message from a particular service comes from a verified service provider. Not only that, WhatsApp Business also eliminates the need for a small or personal business to have to pay for this service.

Customers also benefit as the service comes from a known source, while spam messages can be easily filtered out.

Business profiles on WhatsApp Business

With respect to the standard features, the business profiles on WhatsApp Business, help customers to obtain relevant information such as email address, physical address of the business, the website or any additional description of the company.

This is all detailed information that helps establish the nature of the company on WhatsApp. By becoming a verified company, authenticity is increased and WhatsApp users are also allowed to know that the company does not seek to deceive them.

Messaging tools

Another highlight of WhatsApp Business has to do with the messaging tools it incorporates. As a business it is possible to establish quick responses to ensure that frequently asked questions can be answered quickly.

In addition, greeting messages can be configured to introduce customers to the company, even WhatsApp Business allows you to create personalized absence messages to use after hours or for when it is not possible to serve customers immediately.

The application also allows access to statistical messages from which data can be obtained that can be used to better understand customers and also offer better services, allowing the business to grow in the process.

Under this premise WhatsApp business offer messaging statistics, a function that provides owners with simple metrics about the number of messages sent, messages delivered, messages read, all with the aim that the content of the quick responses or the strategy used to contact customers can be modified.

WhatsApp Web compatibility

This is another of the best WhatsApp Business features, as it allows business owners to manage their services online, without having to use the mobile application. The functionality is not yet as complete as the mobile app, but it is expected to be in future updates and as more companies join.

What you need to use WhatsApp Business

It is important to mention that there are some prerequisites for running WhatsApp Business as a consequence of the way the WhatsApp service is designed. To start, you need to have a smartphone that works with Android (currently there is no version for iOS), as well as a number to be able to register for the service.

This number will be the official number of the company and will be used every time we interact with customers. The most convenient thing is that it is a different number, so perhaps the most appropriate thing is to opt for a new SIM card. The reason for this has to do with the WhatsApp verification process, since the service only allows a mobile number to be linked to a single WhatsApp account.

Therefore, if your current number is already being used by WhatsApp, it is not possible to use it for a business account at WhatsApp business. Now, what happens then with users who only have a SIM card and a mobile phone? Well, in this case it will be necessary transfer the data from your current WhatsApp account to the Business Profile in WhatsApp Business.

If what you want is to maintain the personal number associated with WhatsApp, then you will have to go out and buy a second SIM card, as well as buy another mobile device to run the application, unless of course you have an Android phone with dual SIM support.

How to configure WhatsApp Business?

• If you already have a business number that you use primarily for WhatsApp, then you will need to back up your conversations to cloud storage first. To do this you simply have to access the "Chats" section, then "Chats backup" and finally click on the "Backup" option.
• After this, it will be necessary to download WhatsApp Business from the Play Store to install it on the phone. At the end of the installation, WhatsApp Business should be run. The first thing to do will be to verify the phone number of the company, which will be the same number that you will use as a company to communicate and interact with your customers.
• Once the number has been verified, you will then have the option to restore your conversations associated with the mobile phone number. You must set the name of your company as a username and once you are in the Chat section, click on the menu button to access "Settings".
• From the "Profile" section, in the "Business configuration" section, you will have access to several fields similar to those of a contact card so that you can add all the details of your company that you want to share with your clients.
• When you are done with this, the basic configuration of WhatsApp Business will be complete and from that moment you can start communicating with your customers, as well as using the messaging tools that we mentioned before.

As surely you have noticed, WhatsApp Business does not currently support business search on WhatsApp. That is why company or business owners must have their contact number and add it to their WhatsApp contacts in order to start interacting with customers or even add it to a group.

Although initially the application may feel somewhat rudimentary, with the integrated messaging functions, WhatsApp Business has enormous potential to become very useful tools for companies. Not only that, the addition of WhatsApp Payments should also work as a catalyst to make the application even more complete.

La WhatsApp for business application is available for free through the Google Play Store. Although it is suitable for all types of companies and businesses, it can only be used with phones running Android 4.0.3 or higher. Its download size is 33MB.